Yellow and Blue
by And-from-Andriani
Summary: Collection of loosely connected drabbles, describing the relationship between a certain Foreigner and the Park Owner. (edited on 23.05.20)


Amusement Park, Alice decides one day, is like a package of jelly beans, all brightly colored, each with a unique flavour. By now the girl can easily navigate around Blood's Mansion, can find her way through the rose labyrinth leading to Heart Castle with her eyes closed, but she gets lost and feels a bit like the infamous Knight of Hearts whenever she visits Amusement Park for Park Owner loves changing things in his domain. No matter how often Alice comes over, there are always new rides and candy stands and even though she was never a huge fan of such parks back in her own world, the girl finds herself at ease here. Maybe because a certain Park Owner is so good when it comes to entertaining his guests.

There is more to Mary Gowland than meets the eye, she reasons.

For a person who is completely oblivious to how people don't particularly enjoy his music, Gowland can be surprisingly perceptive when it comes to her moods.

"Tired, aren't you? Let us take a break and have some iced tea"

It is not Boris, but Gowland who notices how after hours of exploring Amusement Park her feet are absolutely killing her. Once he even carried her all the way from mirror labyrinth to the café area. Alice blushes slightly at the memory.

She is a lightweight, the girl thinks. Or maybe it is just that men in Heartland are too strong, making it so easy for them to lift her off the ground. By now she has several experiences of being carried (in case of Ace more like being thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes), but if there is ever a "carrying" contest she'll vote for Gowland. He holds her gently, not at all troubled by her weight, his grip on her strong, but careful, his steps deliberately slow in order not to shake her. And, unlike other men, he doesn't even seem to realize how this whole bridal-style carrying looks like – paying no attention to wolf whistles and cheering of his workers, Gowland carefully puts her down on a sofa (he chose the shadowy side of the café, Alice notices with gratitude) and after making sure she is comfortable, leaves for promised iced tea.

For a man who likes coming up with some crazy background story for everyone, his memory is astonishingly good for he never forgets her favourites once she tells him.

"Here you go, Rainbow lemonade and Chocolate Delight with nuts. Enjoy!" - he says in a sing-song voice, placing a tray with sweet treats on a table. This lopsided grin of his is contagious, Alice thinks, unable to hold back her own smile.

Role Holders are feared, Nightmare told her, but if anyone is popular among faceless, it is Mary Gowland the Park Owner. Amusement Park is always packed with customers.

At least until the owner starts playing his violin.

Alice sighs. If only she can get a pair of decent earplugs, she muses. Mary Gowland is a pretty sight when he plays – his eyes seem bluer than usual, his smile is the one of absolute bliss. It is obvious for any observer just how much he enjoys his music – too bad Alice can't look at him properly for too long - her ears urge her to retreat, unable to cope with the disastrous noises the red-haired musician produces.

Unlike many Gowland seems to hold some respect for life – at least he is dead set against his customers or workers being shot. His men are fiercely devoted to him, Alice notices on more than one occasion. They don't back down even if they have to deal with ever lost Ace, despite knowing his reputation all too well.

Everyone in Heartland is dangerous, Julius warns her, but Park Owner doesn't appear so, especially in comparison with others.

Alice knows Blood is dangerous because Hatter doesn't hide his interest in her, his voice laced with provocation whenever they speak. There are reasons why the girl prefers borrowing books from Hatter's Mansion instead of reading them in Blood's study room as he suggests.

Ace is dangerous because it is impossible to tell what he thinks behind that pleasant smile of his. He can easily attack you out of the blue, tells her Boris once, his voice unusually serious, and Alice knows cat boy tells her no lies.

Peter is dangerous because when he thinks something is wrong, White Rabbit draws a weapon and kills before anyone has a chance to explain themselves. He doesn't listen, not even to her though he claims his complete devotion.

Gowland is not dangerous, Alice thinks until once she is so distracted by his smile, she forgets to run away or at least cover her ears when he decides it's a good time to perform. Afterward she wonders if Gowland's careless, friendly charm is actually more threatening.

She considers him the most peaceful person in Heartland after Julius – until she hears Blood calling him by name.

Alice shudders at the memory. Knowledge of pure fury, as well as damage range Gowland is capable of makes the girl desperately wish she _never_ makes him angry. After witnessing his outburst she understands why not even the mischievous Tweedle twins dare to call Gowland by his given name (only Blood does sometimes, but then there is nothing that can stop Mad Hatter from doing as he pleases).

She also understands why Mary Gowland is more than capable of standing his ground against Red Queen and Mad Hatter, successfully participating in the war between territories.

Few things that set him off, Alice observes – like being addressed by his name or being reminded of his age, however weird it seems in a country where time flow is so abnormal.

He is not old, Alice decides resolutely, observing how Park Owner shows Dee and Dum a new roller coaster. The look of excitement on Gowland's face mirrors the one twins are having. Old men don't have such looks of boyish wonder. Old men don't attach toy horses to their jackets. Old men don't possess such strength in their arms.

He is Alice's favourite companion for rides because unlike Boris or the twins who prefer speed and excitement above all else, Gowland can appreciate the slow beauty of Ferris wheel or simple boat ride as well.

His residence is the opposite of Heart Castle with its opulent luxury or Hatter's mansion with its' expensive elegance, the furthest thing from Clocktower built of heavy stones with great care for solidness – clearly no attempt was made to follow any plan, no effort whatsoever to coordinate colours. It's like a candy box or a red velvet cake with three carousels on top of it. Inside is even worse – different patterns and colours clash, the vivid yellow of the floor sharply contrasts with red wallpaper, running horse patterns cheerfully grace the corridor walls. Each room contains various brightly colored instruments, (as Alice discovered, there are some pianos in the garden too). Strangely Gowland's house has a harmony of its own and Alice likes coming over.

So here they are at a table on the sunlit veranda, taking a break from trying out several newest rides.

As Alice is cooling her fingers around a glass of lemonade, she wonders what his lips could taste like – lemon drops or cotton candy?

She is the prettiest girl he'd seen, Gowland decides in one brief glance when he first sees her standing in front of the park gates, with a look of uncertainty on her face. Boris may call him an old man all he wants, but Mary Gowland is by no means so hopelessly old that he didn't know a pretty girl when he saw one. He also knows instantly that she is not a Wonderlander and makes an additional effort to make her feel welcome even though his impromptu performance for some reason doesn't make her happy.

Unlike some other Role Holders Gowland quite likes her dress – it is of his favourite shade of bright blue and yellow patterns adorn it nicely in his opinion. He only wishes the girl who once told him there is no colour coordination in his house, would notice how wonderfully her dress looks next to his regular outfit (and how horribly it clashes with Boris's pink fur and black leather).

He may not be the most observant man, but he notices the shadows on her face. It is something Alice brought from her own world, the sign of sorrow and grief she experienced there, Park Owner deduces. His ambition is to chase those away and he secretly celebrates when he manages to do so.

When Alice smiles, he finds himself oddly happy. Yup, he thinks. Definitely the prettiest girl. Smile like this can blind someone.

When she plays the piano for him for the first time, Gowland is awestruck. The divinely new melody falls on his ears like a blossom. Someone with such a gift should perform in front of a large audience – heck, he can totally make a special event, set a stage in the middle of the Amusement Park and let her play for everyone to hear, but he selfishly wishes to keep this knowledge of her music talent all to himself. So when Alice turns down his proposition about performance, he doesn't insist too much.

But instead he asks her to come over and play for him again.

It is widely known that Gowland hates his given name, but sometimes Park Owner thinks he wouldn't mind much if Alice would call him "Mary" in that sweet voice of hers. After all, even being berated by her feels nice. Plus, at this point she seems to be on first-name basis with all other Role Holders, so it is Julius, Boris and Vivaldi, Ace and Peter, Blood and Elliot. Gowland ponders if he should give her the right to address him by his first name, but he does hate the name a little too much and, really, it would be a dead give-away.

As they sit on a sunny veranda of his residence Gowland finds himself stealing glances at the girl. Her hair is something, he thinks, the way sun is shining through it makes those tresses of hers look golden. His fingers itch to touch it, run through it, but he knows better.

She sits across him, holding her glass of lemonade with an air of aloof indifference which is another thing he likes about her.

Alice may look delicate and fragile, but she handles this rough world of theirs surprisingly well. Gowland marvels at how known troublemakers such as Boris or Bloody twins actually listen to Alice and do as she says. He is awed when one word from her is enough to make Prime Minister Peter White put his gun down. The red-haired musician is positive that if there is any force that can make Clockmaker ride a roller coaster willingly, it would be Alice.

She is sipping her lemonade when Gowland briefly wonders whether her lips would feel just as cold and sweet. He wishes he'd have a chance to find out, hopefully sometime soon, because it's getting more and more difficult to let her go back to Clocktower.


End file.
